NEW YORK – Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, today praised the West Virginia legislature for approving legislation to protect unborn babies from dismemberment abortions.

“West Virginia legislators have made their state and the world a less barbaric place with the passage of this measure,” said Fr. Pavone. “For the law to allow, as it currently does, an unborn child of any age to have his or her body forcibly torn into pieces is a denial of the very purpose of law. With the adoption of this bill safeguarding babies in the womb from dismemberment, the law is one step closer to becoming less inhumane.”

West Virginia’s House of Delegates voted 86 to 13 to approve a Senate-passed measure that would protect children from dismemberment abortions which are performed by pulling on an unborn child’s head and extremities until they are amputated from his or her torso. The bill now goes to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who last year saw his veto of the state’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act overridden by the legislature.

“The choice is now Governor Tomblin’s,” added Fr. Pavone. “Does he want to be on the side of humanity and compassion and sign this bill or on the side of those who make their living taking lives? If he’s smart, he’ll sign this bill.”

Priests for Life is helping to lead efforts nationally to advance Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion bills. Priests for Life gave an award to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback at the March for Life in D.C. in January because he was the first governor to sign such a measure.

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.